MediaShout vs ProPresenter, Round 2
March 10, 2008
MediaShout:
- Laptop with good amount of video memory, and decent processor: $600
- Cost of software: $429
ProPresenter:
- Check out the Renewed Vision store if you want to see who wins this round.
Disclaimer:
Okay, so the Macs that Renewed Vision sells have a 2.0 GHz processor vs the 1.7 I saw at TigerDirect. But the point is PC’s are a lot cheaper. You can still buy a 2 GHz PC for a lot less than $1140. And a 1.7 dual core is more than adequate for most applications. My last event that I ran Mediashout at was a Men’s Retreat for the Covenant Southeast Conference. I was using my personal laptop for recording, and using my wife’s laptop (which was my laptop years ago) for MediaShout. That computer is a 1.4 GHz *single* core processor with 768 MB RAM. Granted, it was simple as far as video clips and such go, but it handled the job just fine without any complications. I even played AVI’s, FLV’s, and SWF files on it. MediaShout will play anything as long as you have the proper codec installed.
March 10, 2008 at 8:28 pm
No question, PCs are cheaper, at least initially. The Dell tower we used at my last church to run Media Shout was probably less than a grand; a comparable Mac would have been $1500.
On the other hand, our IT director had take the Dell home and rebuild the OS every 4-6 months because it kept flaking out. And we had to re-boot between rehearsal and service if we expected it to not crash.
I have a 7-year old G4 tower downstairs that I installed the OS on a few years ago and haven’t done much of anything since (save running a maintenance script once every month or two).
If support costs nothing, PCs tend to be cheaper. But factoring in support, it’s another story. And that doesn’t take into account taste. To me, PCs feel cheap and poorly designed, and I don’t like Windows (any flavor).
On the other hand, I feel Macs are beautifully designed and built and I really like the OS. So for me, it’s not about the difference of a few hundred bucks, it’s about a better work experience. It’s the same reason I buy Honda and not GM.
Then again, some people I know are stoked about their PCs, and to them saving a few hundred is a bonus because they really like them.
Personally, I like Macs enough to have considered buying my own when I was initially told my church-issued laptop was to be a Dell (I subsequently sold them on getting me a MacBook Pro…).
Different strokes for different folks. And look at it this way, if it wasn’t for the Mac, Microsoft wouldn’t have anything to copy for their next OS version!
Blessings!
March 10, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Oh the irony. I’ve always bought GM vehicles too.
Back in the Win98 days, I was reformatting my machines every few months. But I’ve almost never had a problem with Win2000 and up that couldn’t be repaired. I can’t say never, but definitely on the rare side.
It all goes back to what I said in Round 1, if you know what you’re doing with a PC, it’s potential is much greater. But generally speaking, most PC users do need to pay someone like me for support and/or training. But the support really shouldn’t cost more than the price difference if you’ve hired the right person. I charge $90 an hour to my clients, and if there’s a problem that takes more than 8 hours to fix, then yes you could have saved money and bought a Mac. But I have a rule that I don’t spend more than 2 hours on a problem…if I can’t figure it out in 2 hours, I then do reformat the machine so I know the problem will be resolved in under 4 or 5 hours total. And that is getting rarer and rarer recently. (I’m also one of the weirdo’s who likes Vista).
And to your last comment, no argument here. I’d say Microsoft copies everything that they create. But they add 1 thing to everything they do…an SDK (software development kit). I was discussing the differences between Quickbooks and Microsoft Accounting recently with a client. The MS Accounting really is a direct copy of QB, hardly any difference for the average user and most people can be happy to continue using QB. But MS added VB support and an SDK. So if there’s something that MS didn’t build into the program, I can add it with a little bit of code (or a lot of code in some cases). But the potential is so much greater.
Same goes for an iPhone vs Windows Mobile…the iPhone is well made, interface is cleaner, it’s more user friendly. But I have resources like Pocket PC Freeware. And if I can’t find what I want there, I can open Visual Studio and make it. Or pay someone else to. Okay, so the iPhone has an SDK now, but it will also cost more to hire an Apple developer (after all, their costs are much higher and probably consider their expertise to be a premium as well).
You seem to be a magnet for PC problems aren’t you? Ironically, I probably am for Macs too, since I’ve had so many problems with the Macs I work with at North Point. And every one else I know who prefers Macs has never seen the spinning beach ball.
July 15, 2008 at 8:46 am
Greetings Guys!
Help has arrived! I am the Praise and Worship Channel Manager for Open labs, Inc. We are releasing a Praise and Worship specific product in September. We have aligned ourselves with many software and content companies such as Media Shout, Ableton Live and Interactive Worship Live. Please check out our site and feel free to contact me via email or phone.
We understand that Pro Presenter has contemplated releasing a PC version of their product. I happen to live minutes from their offices and our product team will be meeting with them soon.
You can find us on the web at http://www.openlabs.com We have every major record and music professional in country using our gear. Now, we are going to bundle a product for the Worship and Praise channel rich in content and ease of use.
Kindest regards,
Rob Teem
Praise and Worship Channel Manager.
Open labs, Inc.
http://www.openlabs.com
678-499-0800